Winter / Summer wheel storage

[MJim]

I'm looking to set myself up with a set of winter wheels. No choice in the matter as we're driving off to the mountains this winter where they're a legal requirement. The problem is we live in a town property with no spare storage space.

I've enquired with BMW and they will only hotel your other set if you buy a new set from them at £2k min, and no real guarantee that they will look after you the next year. Qwik fit have a service but again only if you buy a full set of tyres from then, and I'm not sure I'd trust them anyway. I've enquired with the usual storage space providers and again this seems a very pricey way to store a set of wheels at over £500 a year.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to alternatives (we live in West London)?

[CondorX5]

Check out the winter wheel / tyre thread you've posted on above - it does address storage as well and gives the info I've set out below.

You have three options:

1. Buy your winter set up from BMW and use their Tyre Hotel facility (only available if you buy the set up from them)
2. Store them at home in a safe place if you have the space, or at a relative/ friends place if you can cadge space from them.
3. Rent storage from a self-store facility / container park. Look in the Yellow Pages for one near you. Some have small lockable units with 24/7 access for about £20 -£30 a month

Those are the only ways of dealing with the situation as I see it - other than getting rid of the wheels of course, not the best option while you still have the X5!



PS Quirky alternatives could include using the wheels as a table base in or ourdoors or as expensive and rather large ornaments in your bedroom / living room etc.

[MJim]

Sorry you're right - missed that bit when I quickly skimmed over it again! Thanks for the thoughts - I'll check out the self store / container park option again. Cheapest I could see was £500+ pa, but probably need to look at cheaper out of town locations ... I don't think proposing making a feature out of 4 large X5 wheels would be an idea my wife would be full of enthusiasm for (not sure I would be either tbh!), but could be an idea for a more 'petrol head' environment ...

[snipez999]

I take it your wheel size means you cannot simply get wintger rubber for use on same wheels? Easier to store tyres on their own I guess. Just an idea.

[MJim]

Been through that debate. Having seen one of my tyres replaced following a puncture, as they're runflats it's quite an exercise and I'm not sure how good it is for the wheels to be ripped on and off in that manner twice a year. Also I intend to go for smaller narrower wheels which are better in snow / ice. Obviously they take up the same amount of space with wheels inside and switching whole wheels is something even I could do with a beefy jack ... Thanks for commenting though - appreciate it.

[MJim]

As mentioned the winter wheels post, I'm fortunate to have had had a friend volunteer the use of his garage which is a relief - with winter wheels on their way from Germany (eBay.de) !

Does anyone have any recommendations as to wheel bags to store the wheels in to keep them protected? I'm conscious that my 19" summer runflats plus wheels weigh a tonne so may fall outside the 30kg limit on some bags? I've seen these on eBay:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/220851860047? ... 1438.l2648
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/300578170249? ... 1438.l2648

Any advice appreciated !

[gobiman]

Mine live in a garage with an old sheet over them to keep the dust off. On the basis that they usually live outside on a car in all weathers, i personally wouldn't bother with a bag like this. Fine for your ski boots but your tyres?

[X5Sport]

I didn't pay £2k for mine from BMW, and I'm only going to pay £600 for the Mini's, but BMW still store them. Must be your dealer being miserable!!

The X6 wheels are enormous so I'm glad they do store them. I had them in the shed for a week and that nearly broke the floor!! The Mini's ickle tiny 16" jobbies I can probably put on a wall rack in the garage.

[CondorX5]

Apparently most BMW dealers who offer storage will only store wheel sets bought from BMW - and only for a year after purchase, after that you get charged for the privilege! The brochure indicates that, too. My guess is though, X5sport, your dealer does pretty well out of your family with your new X6 and now the new Mini, so perhaps they go the extra mile for you

[kkodal78]

[quote=""MJim""]As mentioned the winter wheels post, I'm fortunate to have had had a friend volunteer the use of his garage which is a relief - with winter wheels on their way from Germany (eBay.de) !

Does anyone have any recommendations as to wheel bags to store the wheels in to keep them protected? I'm conscious that my 19" summer runflats plus wheels weigh a tonne so may fall outside the 30kg limit on some bags? I've seen these on eBay:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/220851860047? ... 1438.l2648
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/300578170249? ... 1438.l2648

Any advice appreciated ![/quote]
i just purchased the BMW OEM Tyre bags for 60 quid including postage from stateside for set of 4. i am looking forward to receiving them in the post to use them.

[pvr]

Must remember to fit the hoist I bought to lift them off the ceiling floor I made for them ...

The stepladder really is not happy when I lift them off

[MJim]

@gobiman: I'd probably do the same if they were in my own garage, but going into a friend's garage would like to protect them better in case things get put on top etc.

@X5Sport, CondorX5: I think the problem is that I got a very high discount sourced through the internet, and by buying my X5 from a non-local dealer. Maybe if I'd gone back to them I would have been treated better but can't be doing a 2 hour round trip to change wheels. The £2k price for 18in style 177s is the BMW list price for the recommended winter wheel this winter, so I suspect they'll all now be quoting the same. In terms of storage they vary but are pricey and also vague re what they offer beyond the first year.

@kkodal78: Sounds perfect. Could you post a link?

@PVR: Don't think I'd be happy carrying one of these wheels plus runflats down a stepladder, never mind the stepladder itself!

[gobiman]

Fair point if it's a mate's garage.
Good luck with it all.
I'm also in West London and store a winter/summer set when not in use. I'll be putting the winters on at the beginning of November and have two trips out to the Alps booked (Dec and Feb).
All we need now is some snow.

[X5Sport]

[quote=""MJim""]Does anyone have any recommendations as to wheel bags to store the wheels in to keep them protected? I'm conscious that my 19" summer runflats plus wheels weigh a tonne so may fall outside the 30kg limit on some bags? I've seen these..... [/quote]

I bought something very similar for mine last year and the weight limit is a maximum. The lifting straps tore away immediately when the X6 wheels were wrapped and the bags lifted by their carry handles. These big alloys need a very heavy duty bag with very heavy duty handles made of the same stuff that can be used for towing or tying down loads to trailers.

I've been trying to find a bag that has such a strap/lift handle material but no luck to date. The straps need to form a continuous u-frame with just the bag sewn to them. If, like the design I bought - and it looks like the same seller - the handles are stiched halfway down and don't form a continuous belt then they just rip out. They're fine for an Astra or Fiat 500, but not an X5 or X6 An X5/6 wheel landing on your tootsies is not a pleasant experience!!

I don't know they call them 'light alloy wheels' coz they're @%*+&@& heavy to me!!

[snipez999]

I just emailed a dealer in the States about the BMW tire totes (as they call them over the Pond) and tire felts (which protect the exposed section of alloy when stacking). I'll let you know when I receive a reply for fully shipped cost.

Am also popping to my friendly local coach fitters to commission a rear middle seat unit as per that Russian-sounding bloke on Youtube. A centre lapbelt to MOT spec is only 15 quid and if it works out at a decent overall cost (ie. less than the 450 USD quoted by the Rusky) I'll put out a call for a group buy. This coach fitter is able to source very good quality leather so I'm hoping he will find a close match to my slate Individual trim.